From Pandemic to Prolific - The Story of TRIM.co & TRIM NuLu

Three years ago, TRIM.co, the first "Uber" for haircuts app was developed and launched in Louisville, KY. Specially designed haircutting stations were rolled out to local large businesses to allow employees to get their hair cut onsite as an employee perk. An employee would download the software to their phone, schedule a haircut at their place of business, and pay for the service all through the app. The idea caught on like wildfire, a dozen partners came onboard, and the popularity of TRIM.co grew. With success seemingly happening around every corner, a nationwide rollout began to look like a realistic endeavor.

Then the world changed. The pandemic hit and haircuts everywhere began to stop as salons paused their services or shut their doors completely. Business locations, the lifeblood of the TRIM.co onsite model, were mothballed as working from home became the new standard. The TRIM.co staff, which had left high-paying jobs at exclusive salons to work at a startup, soon found themselves out of work and with little certainty for the future.

There was a glimmer of hope. Over time, physical salons in Louisville were allowed to reopen with limited capacity. But with no central TRIM.co salon, the lessening of restrictions meant little. Being problem solvers, and to keep pushing forward even in the face of a pandemic, TRIM.co began construction on a high-end salon to service not only clients from its onsite business locations, but also the public at large.

The new salon, named TRIM NuLu, was designed and built for pandemic conditions. A 50% capacity limit was written in as part of the business model and COVID-19 became a paradigm to work within, not work around. The salon acquired two state-of-the-art UVC Lightforce light sanitation systems to treat for COVID and gave clients the safest experience possible. TRIM NuLu quickly became known as the safest salon in Louisville.